neljapäev, aprill 27, 2017

clams on the half shell and roller skates

Head aega! This is the all-purpose Estonian goodbye. It is more sincere than the forced nägemist which implies that you might see the person again, and though you most likely will, there is the possibility that you won't. (There is also the presumption that you might actually want to see the person again). Then there is the androgynous nägemiseni. I once used this with my friend Mart, but he blushed a bit and said, "Justin, men don't say nägemiseni." That's nägemiseni. It's for little girls, apparently. But head aega! It just means, literally, "good times." Isn't anyone worthy of good times? I can still hear Nile Rogers chinkalink guitar on Chic's old disco hit "Good times/These are the good times/A new state of mind/These are the good times." The funny thing is that for the Estonians, head aega is something an older serious person would say to you. This is the cry of the old men. For Americans, it sounds like leftover stoner. "Good times, man." "Same to you." Like you should be munching on chocolate chip cookies in the corner of a college keg party in Connecticut listening to Chic. Not that I know anything about that. Gotta run now. Head aega!